35560 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 125 /Tuesday, June 30, 1998 / Proposed Rules

3An exception is the Direct Broadcast Satellite

(DBS) Service.

4 13 CFR 120.121, SIC code 4899.

5 1992 Economic Census Industry and Enterprise

Receipts Size Report, Table 2D, SIC code 4899 (U.S.

Bureau of the Census data under contract to the

Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business

Administration).

parameters, the issues of licensing,

channelization, and other complex

technical matters are being deferred to

a later proceeding. Therefore, because

this present action will not result in the

provision of these operations, we certify

that this action will not have a

significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

13. Despite the certification, we have

performed a voluntary Initial Regulatory

Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), below, to

create a fuller record in this proceeding

and to give more information to entities,

small and not, that might be affected by

our action. Written public comments are

requested on the IRFA. Comments must

be identified as responses to the IRFA

and must be filed by the deadlines for

comments on the NPRM. The

Commission’s Office of Public Affairs,

Reference Operations Division, will

send a copy of the NPRM, including this

certification and voluntary analysis, to

the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the

Small Business Administration.

A. Need for, and Objectives of, the

Proposed Rules

14. The objective of this action is to

provide sufficient spectrum to permit

the development of DSRCS technologies

to improve the nation’s transportation

infrastructure and bolster the

involvement of United States companies

in this emerging industry.

B. Legal Basis

15. This action is taken pursuant to

sections 4(i), 7(a), 303(c), 303(f), 303(g),

and 303(r) of the Communications Act

of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 154(i),

157(a), 303(c), 303(f), 303(g), and 303(r).

C. Description and Estimate of the

Number of Small Entities to Which the

Proposed Rules Will Apply

16. The 5.85–5.925 GHz band is

currently available to the U.S. Federal

Government for Radiolocation purposes,

Fixed Satellite Service licensees for

international intercontinental links,

amateur radio operators and by various

entities using part 18 Industrial,

Scientific and Medical (‘‘ISM’’)

equipment and part 15 unlicensed

device equipment. We note that there

are only 45 FSS licenses issued for

operation in 5.85–5.925 GHz band and

most if not all are held by large

corporations. Further, amateur radio

operators and the Federal Government

do not qualify as small entities. We also

note that part 18 ISM devices are

protected in this band, which only

generate electromagnetic energy, are not

used for communication purposes and

therefore cannot receive interference or

be impacted by this action. Finally,

while part 15 unlicensed devices are

permitted to operate in the 5.85–5.875

GHz portion, they do so on an

unlicensed, unprotected basis. Further,

the Commission has no means to

determine the number of small entities

that might use unlicensed part 15

equipment that operates in the band at

issue. The NPRM discusses means by

which the potential DSRCS would be

able to share the spectrum with

incumbent operations and requests

comment on ways to ensure such

spectrum sharing. Accordingly, we do

not believe this action would have a

negative impact on small entities that

operate in the 5.85–5.925 GHz band, but

nevertheless request comment on this

assessment.

17. Regarding the Fixed Satellite

Service licensees for international

intercontinental links, the Commission

has not developed a definition of small

entities applicable to licensees in the

international services. Therefore, the

applicable definition of small entity is

generally the definition under the SBA

rules applicable to Communications

Services, Not Elsewhere Classified

(NEC).3 This definition provides that a

small entity is expressed as one with

$11.0 million or less in annual receipts.4

According to the Census Bureau, there

were a total of 848 communications

services providers, NEC, in operation in

1992, and a total of 775 had annual

receipts of less than $9,999 million.5

The Census report does not provide

more precise data.

18. Regarding the future use of the

5.85–5.925 GHz band by DSRCS

equipment, we believe it is too early to

make an determination on such

operations. A future rulemaking

proceeding will propose further

technical standards, licensing and

service rules and a separate regulatory

flexibility analysis will address all

issues relevant to that proceeding.

D. Description of Projected Reporting,

Recordkeeping and Other Compliance

Requirements

19. We are proposing to allocate this

spectrum for a new service. The

licensing and technical regulations

governing these operations will be

addressed in a separate proceeding.

Therefore, this proposed action does not

create any reporting or compliance

requirements.

E. Steps Taken to Minimize Significant

Economic Impact on Small Entities, and

Significant Alternatives Considered

20. The NPRM proposes basic

technical rules such as power limits,

unwanted emission limits and a

frequency stability requirement. It also

requests comment on whether

operational standards should be

adopted to facilitate nation-wide

interoperability of DSRCS. The

development of DSRCS operational

standards could delay the initial

deployment of such equipment, but

could ultimately result in equal footing

for all manufacturers, including small

entities, in producing equipment that

meets uniform standards. We request

comment on further alternatives that

might minimize the amount of

economic impact on small entities.

F. Federal Rules that May Duplicate,

Overlap, or Conflict With the Proposed

Rules

21. None.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Parts 2 and

90

Communications equipment, Radio.

Federal Communications Commission.

Magalie Roman Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–17314 Filed 6–29–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 061998C]

Fisheries of the Northeastern United

States; Petition for Rulemaking for

Rotational Opening of Georges Bank

Closed Areas for Scallop Fishing

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of receipt of petition for

rulemaking; request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces receipt of,

and requests public comment on, a

petition for rulemaking requesting that

sea scallop harvest be allowed on a

rotational basis in areas of Georges Bank

that are currently closed to all vessels

capable of catching groundfish,

including scallop vessels. David E.

Frulla, of Brand, Lowell, and Ryan

(Petitioner), has petitioned the Secretary

of Commerce (Secretary), on behalf of
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 125 /Tuesday, June 30, 1998 / Proposed Rules 35561

the Fisheries Survival Fund, to

determine where in the Georges Bank

closed areas scallops are large in size

and number and where primary

groundfish are more susceptible to

scallop gear, to better target and

optimize scallop fishing while still

maximizing recovery of primary

groundfish stocks and habitat. The

Petitioner requests that when the data

collection has been completed,

emergency action be taken to open

portions of Georges Bank currently

closed to scallop fishing, which would

be balanced by closing some currently

open areas.

DATES: Comments on the petition are

requested on or before August 31, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the petition for

rulemaking are available upon request

from Gary C. Matlock, Ph.D., Director,

Office of Sustainable Fisheries, NMFS,

1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring,

MD 20910. Comments on the petition

should be directed to Dr. Gary C.

Matlock at the above address. Please

mark the outside of the envelope

‘‘Rotational Opening of Scallop Closed

Areas.’’

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mark R. Millikin, 301–713–2341.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

fishery affected by this petition for

rulemaking is the Atlantic sea scallop

fishery, which is managed under the

Fishery Management Plan for the

Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery (FMP). The

Secretary has management authority for

this species group under the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and

Management Act. The management unit

for this fishery is Atlantic sea scallop

(Placopecten magellanicus) in U.S.

waters of the Atlantic Ocean from North

Carolina to Newfoundland along the

continental shelf of North America.

Implementing regulations for the fishery

are found at 50 CFR part 648, subpart

D.

The scallop advisory report issued

from the 23rd Stock Assessment

Workshop in March 1997 stated that the

current spawning stock biomass (SSB) is

at a low level and the level of landings

is determined primarily by variations in

the number of recruits entering the

fishery. On Georges Bank, abundance

and fishing mortality are at moderate

levels, but this results from

approximately one-half of the region

currently being closed to fishing via the

groundfish closed areas to protect

depleted stocks of cod, haddock, and

yellowtail flounder. Scallop dredges

were included in the fishing ban owing

to their propensity to catch juvenile

flatfish and other species whose stocks

had collapsed. The scallop stock is

rebuilding in these closed areas, but

elsewhere on Georges Bank fishing

mortality is greater than the current

overfishing threshold. Overfishing for

Atlantic sea scallops is defined in the

FMP as the fishing mortality rate greater

than the rate that would maintain an

SSB that is 5 percent of the SSB level

that would exist without fishing. The

report further states that scallops in the

Mid-Atlantic region are at a low level of

abundance, are overexploited, and are

declining. The large 1990 and 1991 year

classes have been overfished and

incoming recruitment is among the

lowest on record. Based on high fishing

mortality rates, low stock size, and lack

of significant recruitment, the

management advice from the Northeast

Stock Assessment Workshop is that

fishing effort should be reduced

immediately and significantly in the

Mid-Atlantic region to preserve SSB and

to improve yield per recruit. Recent

results of the 1997 NMFS survey

confirm that trends in abundance and

biomass in both the Mid-Atlantic and

Georges Bank regions are decreasing.

The Petitioner states that the Georges

Bank groundfish closures, which have

been in effect since December 1994, are

causing an imbalance in fishing effort,

thereby making scallop rebuilding more

difficult to achieve. He is requesting that

information collected from the Georges

Bank area on the scallop resource begin

by July 1998, after which emergency

action should be instituted to open areas

of Georges Bank through limited

rotational openings, coupled with

closures of certain portions of currently

open areas. He states that NMFS

analyses have already concluded that

such rebalancing should help scallop

stocks and moderate the worst of the

impending economic effects for the

scallop fishermen.

NMFS requests interested persons to

submit comments on the petition for

rulemaking submitted by the Petitioner.

NMFS will consider this information in

determining whether to proceed with

the development of regulations

requested by the petition.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

Dated: June 24, 1998.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98–17340 Filed 6–29–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[I.D. 061998B]

Western Pacific Fishery Management

Council; Public Hearing

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Fishery

Management Council (Council) will

hold a public hearing to discuss

proposed measures to address the

requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens

Conservation and Management Act

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) through an

amendment to all of the Council’s

fishery management plans that will

address new provisions and definitions.

DATES: The meeting will be held on July

20, 1998, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in

the conference room of the Western

Pacific Fishery Management Council,

1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu,

HI, 96813.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kitty M. Simonds, Executive Director, at

(808) 522–8220.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

public is invited to discuss and make

recommendations to the Council on the

provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act

pertaining to essential fish habitat,

bycatch, fishing sectors, fishing

communities, and definitions of

overfishing.

Special Accommodations

This meeting is physically accessible

to people with disabilities. Requests for

sign language interpretation or other

auxiliary aids should be directed to

Kitty M. Simonds, 808–522–8220

(voice) or 808–522–8226 (fax), at least 5

days prior to the meeting date.

Dated: June 24, 1998.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98–17341 Filed 6–29–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F